title: myc gene amplification and expression in primary human neuroblastoma.
abstract: Although N-myc amplification in neuroblastomas correlates with poor prognosis, not all neuroblastomas which fail to respond to therapy have N-myc amplification. To determine whether other modes of myc gene activation underlie progression of some neuroblastomas, 45 were analyzed for amplification of N-myc, c-myc and L-myc and 26 were studied for transcription of these oncogenes. N-myc amplification was found in 6 of 45 tumors; no tumor had amplification of c-myc or L-myc. Transcription of both N-myc and c-myc occurred in 21 of 26 neuroblastomas. No tumor without N-myc amplification had a level of N-myc expression near that of a tumor or cell line with amplification. One tumor with N-myc amplification was the only specimen with N-myc but not c-myc expression. Five samples had c-myc but not N-myc expression; all had histological features of ganglioneuroma. DNA index did not correlate with myc gene amplification or expression. It is concluded that N-myc and c-myc are commonly expressed in primary untreated neuroblastomas, but in the absence of N-myc amplification, expression of these genes does not appear to correlate with disease progression.
authors.affiliation: Division of Genetics, Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Slavc
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ellenbogen
authors.forename: W H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: G F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Vawter
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kretschmar
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Grier
authors.forename: B R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Korf
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D005784:Gene Amplification; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009447:Neuroblastoma / Q000235:genetics*; D009857:Oncogenes; D015533:Transcriptional Activation; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D004273:DNA, Neoplasm